I recently wrote about what I've learned from my acting classes but I wanted to add what I've learned from Improv as well because there's just too much good stuff that shouldn't be left unknown.
One of the most important things (and possibly the most important) about Improv is staying in the present moment. You can't plan ahead nor should you be dwelling on anything that happened before you got on the stage. All that matters is that present moment you're on the stage with your scene partner.
Once again, everything my Improv teacher was saying related more and more to our day-to-day lives.
He brought up those moments (we all have) when you drive home and you think, how did I get here? It's rare that we concern ourselves with how scary that actually is because that's the world we live in and hey, at least we made it home safely. Right?
But that isn't safe at all! So why have we all completely dazed out? Technology doesn't help but even more so, we're all thinking about the past and the future.
Two things, my teacher noted, that do not exist. They no longer exist. It's as simple as that. Do we have memories of the past? Yes. But the past itself no longer exists nor does the future. All that matters and exists is the present moment.
Think about it... I can't count how many times I've driven here or there thinking--no, drowning in thoughts of stresses at work, incidents with friends, stupid things I said or did, shitty things asshole lovers said or did, things I wish I had said in a argument, things I wish I hadn't said in an argument, things I wish I could re-do, things that were so splendid I wish I could re-live rather than be in this current hell.
Always the same and for years I've been doing this to myself. Does all this ruminating change anything?
No. Absolutely nothing changes. What happened, happened and no matter how much I re-imagine a situation, it never changes. Sure, you can apologize or try to make things right or dump that asshole but everything that happened that lead you to that point, happened and it no longer exists.
My teacher asked us that from now on we drive or walk home and try to be aware of our surroundings, the people, the buildings, and whatever activity we're currently doing. He encouraged us to be more present--not just for the stage--but in our personal lives.
So I did.
I walked home one day and to be honest, it was difficult to not think about the class or think about what I was going to make for dinner when I got home. So I looked at things. I looked at the flowers that cover the privacy fences, the litter on the ground, the flags and posters in windows, the uneven sidewalk, the empty buildings, the For Rent signs--every little thing I passed I took a mental note of it.
It didn't make my walk anymore interesting but if I could do this during stressful moments, I imagine a more peaceful Helena.
Going back to those moments of dwelling on the shoulda, woulda, coulda I get angry at myself for having spent so much of my life torn to pieces over things that no longer existed--things that I could never change. But I can't change this aspect of my past either. I can however, change the present moment and work at not doing this anymore.
I can also be thankful that for everything I deemed as bullshit that happened in my past lead me to right where I need to be--now.
Currently, I sit writing this post. I have goals and dreams and they only way I'll reach them is by what I do at the present moment.
My teacher compared learning Improv to climbing a mountain. If you want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and seeing the top you think, oh my gosh, I could never get there. Well nobody can make it to the top in an instance. You know how you climb a mountain? One step at a time.
Thanks for reading
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